Byker Grove
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Byker Grove is a British children's television series which is shown on BBC1, and was created by Adele Rose.
The show has run since 1990, and is set in a youth club in the northern English city of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The show depicts the lives of children aged 11-16 as they grow up from childhood to adolescence. Although some of the action takes place outside the Grove, the series is unusual among children's dramas in that the characters are never shown in school. One of the major settings is the foster home run by the kindly Lou Gallagher.
Byker Grove has tackled some hard hitting subjects such as drug addiction, child abuse, homelessness and homosexuality.
Byker Grove launched the careers of Ant McPartlin (character name P.J.) and Declan Donnelly (character name Duncan) and who are otherwise known as Ant and Dec. As well as the actress Jill Halfpenny.
The series frequently depicts life as unjust, with bad things happening to good people and vice versa. One of the most shocking episodes is when P.J. is blinded in a paintball accident. It is one of many tragedies to befall Byker Grove characters through the years. Others include Flora's death from a brain tumour, Greg's fall from a rooftop which left him paralysed from the waist down, and youth leader Geoff's death in an accidental gas explosion.
See also Grange Hill.
External link
- Official BBC Byker Grove website (http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/byker/)